Legitimacy and International Courts

An interdisciplinary volume exploring the concept of legitimacy in relation to international courts and what can drive and weaken it.

Nienke Grossman (Edited by), Harlan Grant Cohen (Edited by), Andreas Follesdal (Edited by), Geir Ulfstein (Edited by)

9781108438520, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 2 January 2020

395 pages
22.9 x 15.1 x 2 cm, 0.55 kg

One of the most noted developments in international law over the past twenty years is the proliferation of international courts and tribunals. They decide who has the right to exploit natural resources, define the scope of human rights, delimit international boundaries and determine when the use of force is prohibited. As the number and influence of international courts grow, so too do challenges to their legitimacy. This volume provides new interdisciplinary insights into international courts' legitimacy: what drives and undermines the legitimacy of these bodies? How do drivers change depending on the court concerned? What is the link between legitimacy, democracy, effectiveness and justice? Top international experts analyse legitimacy for specific international courts, as well as the links between legitimacy and cross-cutting themes. Failure to understand and respond to legitimacy concerns can endanger both the courts and the law they interpret and apply.

1. Introduction
Part I. The Legitimacy of Particular Dispute Settlement Mechanisms: 2. Solomonic judgements and the legitimacy of the international court of justice
3. The global-local dilemma and the ICC's legitimacy
4. Justice as legitimacy in the European Court of Human Rights
5. Legitimacy and jurisdictional overlap: the ICC and the inter-American court in Colombia
6. The legitimacy of the European Court of Justice: normative debates and empirical evidence
7. The international tribunal for the law of the sea: seeking the legitimacy of state consent
8. Who decides matters: the legitimacy capital of WTO adjudicators versus ICSID arbitrators
9. The legitimacy of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes
10. The Human Rights Treaty Bodies and legitimacy challenges
Part II. Legitimacy - Cross-Cutting Issues: 11. Constitutionalization, not democratization: how to assess the legitimacy of international courts
12. Democracy, justice and the legitimacy of international courts
13. Stronger together? Legitimacy and effectiveness of international courts as mutually reinforcing or undermining notions.

Subject Areas: International organisations & institutions [LBBU], Public international law [LBB], International law [LB], Law [L]